KUCHING: Two shops at Wayang Street were razed and two partially burnt in a fire that threatened to consume a historical chunk of the city late Saturday.

BLAZE UNDER CONTROL: A bird’s eye view of the fire at Wayang Street, Kuching, on Saturday night.

The mushroom cloud of black smoke, visible for several kilometres, loomed over the night sky as firefighters battled the blaze.

The 10.30pm fire was believed ignited by a short circuit at a hardware store with buckets of paint and thinner stacked inside fueling the flames.

The fire spread to a tattoo shop on the upper floor of the pre-war shop lot half an hour later and consumed the wooden base, before engulfing the rear section facing Ewe Hai Street.

No one was hurt in the incident as both shops had shut down for the day.

Bomba received a distress call around 10.35pm and responded in three minutes with the Kuching branch division the first to arrive on the scene, followed by the Tabuan Jaya, Petra Jaya and Batu Lintang.

State Fire Department deputy director for operations Fathulmuen Abdul Salam told the press it took them an hour to contain the fire.

“Four shops on Wayang Street were reported to have caught fire and it took us approximately one hour to stop the fire from spreading, which is around 11.30pm,” he said before helping in the firefighting.

Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth chief Sih Hua Tong, who was attending the Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA) annual gathering at Four Points by Sheraton hotel rushed over when he heard the news and was among the first to arrive on scene.

Among those present at the scene were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri  Dr George Chan, who is also Minister of Tourism and Heritage; SUPP Kuching branch vice-chairman Lily Yong, Sarawak Tourism Federation president Wee Hong Seng and Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen, who is also State Democratic Action Party secretary.

Dr Chan said: “If the shopkeepers want to continue doing business here (at Wayang Street), it would be advisable for them to install a fire-breaker.”

He hinted that Saturday night’s fire was not major compared to the one at Gambier Street in December last year.

“If it (major fire) happens again, it will be quite painful to watch,” he added.

“To keep these shops for tourism, we must do something to prevent incidents like this; and have a talk with the shopkeepers and the Fire Department on safety precautions to be taken.”

Dr Chan said the firefighters obtained their water supply from the river.

“Sometimes when you get water from the main, it is not as strong as they like it. So they took it straight from the river,” he said.

He said the shop owners need to know the safety aspects.

“On electrical wiring, they must ask whether it has been upgraded or is it still safe. I will ask the Fire Department to advise shopowners on how to prevent fires. Most new shops are now concrete and therefore it would not be easy for fire to spread from one shop to another,” he said.

“If they (shopkeepers) want to rebuild their shops, I’m sure the government will help,” he said.

The Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire with the estimated loss yet to be ascertained.